Massa captures European Grand Prix

Valencia, Spain -- Felipe Massa roared to victory at Sunday's Formula One European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain, 5.6 seconds ahead of F1 points leader Lewis Hamilton.

The victory was Massa's fourth this season and ninth of his F1 career.

Massa (Ferrari) had a near 3-second lead over Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) on the sixth lap and increased it to 4.5 seconds before coming in for his first pit stop on Lap 15.

"I think it is amazing with a new track, which was new for everybody, and we did just such a fantastic job from preparing the car on Friday and Saturday morning and choosing the right tires," Massa said at a post-race news conference.

Robert Kubica (BMW) finished third, while Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren Mercedes) and Jarno Trulli (Toyota) rounded out the top-five finishers.

With the victory, Massa moved up to second in the championship standings, and trails leader Hamilton by six points.

Raikkonen is 13 points back of the leader.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.